


Another Cage

by fondofthehowes



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen, Mention of Death, Post-Joining, The Circle, The Joining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29045709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fondofthehowes/pseuds/fondofthehowes
Summary: Looking over to Anders, she let her eyes lull in thought. He clearly was going to make it, it was just a matter of when he was going to wake up. When he did, she would have to explain things to him as she did Oghren and how Duncan explained to her. That now, he was bound by something far greater than just an order.It was in his blood. It would be his end. It was a new cage.
Relationships: Anders & Female Cousland (Dragon Age)
Kudos: 2





	Another Cage

Oghren was already awake, sent down to the kitchen for food to appease him and the thought made Magnolia smile a little. Never did she think the dwarf would join her like this. Maker, she was certain she would never see him again. Now that he was a warden alongside her, it shifted her perception of him again. A new way to look at him wasn’t uncommon for Oghren at all. 

He was much more than he seemed. 

As she rested in the alcove of the infirmary, she swung her leg slowly against the side. Mhairi didn’t make it and that didn’t make her sad. She wished it did. It should. The same empty feeling she had at her own joining with the others that didn’t make it. Maybe that was why. 

Looking over to Anders, she let her eyes lull in thought. He clearly was going to make it, it was just a matter of when he was going to wake up. When he did, she would have to explain things to him that she didn't to Oghren. More like how Duncan explained to her. That now, he was bound by something far greater than just an order. 

It was in his blood. It would be his end. It was a new cage. 

Anders stirred softly, a groan slipping from his lips as he woke up. Magnolia didn’t move, only watched as he lifted up onto an elbow, rubbing his eyes with his other hand. She had a bucket sat next to him, should he wake up sick. Some people needed it, she certainly did. 

“ _ Well _ ,” Anders coughed, blinking into the dim light of the room, “usually when I wake up to a pretty woman watching over me, I’m being locked up again. This is new.” 

Magnolia’s brows flinched at that. She had conscripted him to save him from being charged with something that was likely untrue, and even if it was, he didn’t deserve to go back to the circle because of it. Shifting to sit facing him, Magnolia crossed her legs, hands poised atop her knees. 

“Do you always joke like this?” Magnolia asked calmly. 

The question took Anders aback for a visible moment, but he pushed forward on his elbow, a false grin growing wider on his face. “Does my humor not suit you,  _ your majesty _ ?” 

“I’m not your queen right now, Anders. I’m your commander, it would do you well to remember that,” She said, eyes narrowing. It wasn’t in anger, she just couldn’t figure him out yet. “You didn’t answer my question.” 

Leaning up to sit, he adjusted himself, letting his legs swing over the side. Thought travelled across his face and his hands curled into his lap.  _ Good _ , She thought.  _ He’s listening. _

“Sometimes. It’s easier than the truth, isn’t it?” Anders asked quietly, looking at her again. “I highly doubt you actually want to listen to  _ me,  _ no one does, so—” 

“You doubt wrong. I do want to listen to you,” Magnolia interrupted. The irony of her stopping him dawned on her and she sighed. “It doesn’t have to be now. It can be when you’re ready. Just know that I don’t indulge in masks. They’re lies.” 

Anders searched her face for a moment, trying to put a foothold in what she just said. The world was different for him now, she needed him to know that. After a moment, a smile tweaked on the corner of his mouth, letting a soft laugh fall out. 

“Maker, what a woman you are,” Anders murmured. “Why are you in here? More initiation?”

Her foot bobbed gently, watching him. There was much to him, as there was to everyone else that she met. There was much to her. It was simply about allowing truth between them to get there. That’s all she desired from others to give it back herself. 

“I wanted to make sure that you were alright, and to also talk to you about what your life is now going to be because you survived,” Magnolia said, her foot stopping its rhythm. 

“ _ Survived _ ?” Anders asked, eyes widening, “I could have died from that? You let me do that and I could have  _ died _ ?” 

“The Seneschal said as much before we started, Anders,” She argued, again narrowing her eyes. He made her do that too often. It was nearly going to give her a headache. “Did you not hear that part?” 

A weak laugh of disbelief left his lips. “ _ Yes _ , but I didn’t think he meant it like  _ that _ . Did—” He looked back into the empty room. A beat of understood silence fell between them. “Did no one else make it?” 

“Oghren survived. He’s downstairs currently. Mhairi didn’t,” She answered plainly. 

Anders shifted on the bed uncomfortably, hands threading and unthreading in his lap. “Maker have mercy… I never knew that about the Wardens.” 

“You’re not supposed to. We can talk about that more later but, there are other things now I need to tell you. Things that will now affect you for the rest of your life,” Magnolia explained, lifting up off the bench to walk over to him. Her hands curled against her stomach, barely looking down on him. The way Duncan once looked at her. 

“Your blood is now tainted, that means you will live a shorter life. You will be able to sense darkspawn because part of you calls to them and one day that calling will overwhelm you. Most wardens choose to go to the deep roads, killing as many as they can until they themselves die. You can do that if you like.” 

“ _ If I like _ ? Who would  _ like _ that?” Anders scoffed, shaking his head. 

“In death, sacrifice,” Magnolia murmured. “The Wardens are a people of a creed, Anders. Some believe it strongly.” 

He looked up at her, searching her for something that she would let him find if he desired it. She didn’t have a mask. She didn’t lie. 

“Do you? Believe it strongly, that is,” Anders asked, almost breathing the words rather than speaking them. “Is that what you’re going to do?” 

“No,” She replied without hesitation, “I will not do that when my time comes. There is too much of a threat of me becoming a broodmother if I descend into that hell. I would become something not myself, create more darkspawn and negate the entire practice entirely while losing my humanity even further.” 

“Maker’s breath,” Anders heaved, ducking his head down to place into his hands. “What are we?” 

_ What are we? _ It was a very good question with a very simple answer. The fact that he asked it at all meant that he understood. Something in her hoped he would continue to understand, if only to understand him better. It gave her an odd pull to yet another strawberry blonde warden and her chest ached a touch. 

“Wardens,” Magnolia answered. Reaching forward, she placed a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, she offered a soft smile. “I saved you from being taken back to the circle or jail, Anders. But I didn’t save you entirely, I’m sorry. I just put you in another cage. This one just has more room to move in it and you’re not alone.” 

Processing it, he eased beneath her and returned the smile. It was a sad one, but it was genuine. No mask on his features.  _ Good. _ Another beat of silence passed and a low growl rang from his stomach. Placing a hand over it, he laughed weakly. 

“Sorry, I’m apparently completely starving. You would think after drinking blood I wouldn’t want to eat for a week,” Anders groaned, rubbing his face and eyes again. 

“Your metabolism and stamina is now… inhuman,” Magnolia said, tilting her head back and forth with a laugh of her own. “It takes some getting used to.” 

A hum came from Anders’ lips as they curled into a smirk and he raised a brow. “Stamina, eh?” 

Hand still on his shoulder, she shoved him back against the bed as she walked off. He bounced against it, laughter chiming from his mouth before another groan. Rolling over onto his stomach, he tried to keep her in his sights as she walked out of the room. His flirtatious humor again always made her bristle, but this time in a way that also made her neck burn. 

It never got easier, apparently. Not even when she was married. 

When she paused at the door, hand curled around the frame, she looked back at him. “You can find plenty of food in the kitchen downstairs and a room that is your own down the hall. If you have any other questions—keep them. I’m going to bed for the night.” 

Ander’s grin eased back into a smile. Lifting up onto a single elbow, he saluted with his free hand, sharp, with a wink. “Of course, my queen, my commander—ah— _ my queenmander _ .” 

Narrowing her eyes, a laugh pressed from Magnolia’s nose before turning away to leave the room. “You’re insufferable, Anders. Goodnight.” 

“So I’ve been told! Goodnight.” 

Settling both hands beneath his chin, he watched her go, smile falling as she left his sight. Falling back against the bed, he stared at the ceiling, taking in each aspect of his new cage. At least in this one he wasn’t alone. 


End file.
